Perfect Ten (12 page)

Faith

I still
couldn’t
believe Joe said he was quitting his job. I really hoped he hadn’t done that just for me. That’d be way too much pressure. I’m still not sure I want to date him. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, I do, but quite frankly, I’m scared.

And the things he’s said to me! I know I should be put off by that. Why did he tell me he was going to—you know—in the shower? Was it just for the shock value or was he trying to get me to think about him naked? Because it worked for both, and while I should be disgusted, I’m not. I’d say I’m more intrigued.

Then I received the invitation to Lion, Tigers, and Bears. I’ve wanted to go there forever, but never had anyone who was interested in going with me. There aren’t many things in life that I love as much as I love critters. All types. Big ones, small ones, nice ones, and even ones that would just as soon take your head off than look at you—it doesn’t matter. I think they all deserve a safe habitat to live in. And the ones that can’t take care of themselves deserve to have someone to look over them.

So, yeah. That invitation tugged at my heartstrings, and I was pretty sure I was going to say yes. Of
course, I couldn’t help but notice the date of the invitation. Joe would no longer be working for Perfect Ten.

Instead of talking to the girls again about what to do about Joe, I decided to confide in my father. He’s always been there for me, and I could tell him anything.

“Hi, Daddy.” He picked up his phone in two rings.

“Hi, Pumpkin. How are you? Everything okay?” That was the way he answered my call every single time I called him.

“Yes, everything’s fine. I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me today.” We did that every once in a while. Just like old times, except we didn’t go to the Beverly Hills Hotel. We usually grabbed something quick and sat on the beach or ate on my deck.

“I’d love to. Let’s see, it’s almost noon now. How about if I pick something up and come over to your house?”

Daddy loved coming to my house. He said my house was a home, while his felt like a museum. The rich life never really suited him like it did other rich people—my mother, for example.

“That sounds great.”

“Are you eating rabbit food today or can I bring something good?”

“Umm, how about a compromise? How about a plain garden salad with real bleu cheese dressing?” That was one of my usual tricks. I love blue cheese
, and I figured if that’s the only thing bad for me on my salad then I could have it.

“That’s not a compromise. How about a grilled chicken salad with blue cheese? You need something with some actual nutrition in it.”

“Okay. Final compromise. Grilled chicken salad with light Ranch dressing on the side.”

“Done.” As if he
didn’t know he’d win. I can’t say no to that man. “See you in a bit, sweetheart.”

“Bye, Daddy.”

***

We talked while we ate our lunches sitting on the deck. I enjoyed my salad while my father enjoyed his pizza turnover
with oozing cheese and sauce from out of the tiny cracks in the freshly made dough. It was a darn good thing I actually loved salad.

We didn’t talk about anything important as we ate; we just made comfortable small talk about how warm it had been and how the Sharks and the Kings were doing. Hockey was one of the interests we shared. It got pretty competitive too, since I was a Sharks fan and he was a Kings fan.

“I’m telling you, honey. I can feel it. The Kings are going all the way this year.”

“No way. Carter’s going to lose his mojo and go back to being ‘Carter high and
wide.’” I love teasing my dad about his favorite player. He had a wicked wrist shot, but it often just missed the net. Of course, it just as often went in to my dismay. I was most definitely
not
a fan of the Kings’ biggest playboy.

“You wish.”

The waves were softly rolling onto the shore as I reluctantly agreed with him. “Yeah, I do wish.” My Sharks made the playoffs almost every year, but they’d never won Lord Stanley’s Cup. “Maybe this will be our year.”

We fell into an easy silence while we finished our meals, broken only by the occasional scream of a seagull flying overhead. When Daddy was done mopping up the remaining sauce on his plate with the last crust of dough, he turned to me and placed his hand on mine. “So, Pumpkin. What did you want to talk to me about?”

I never could hide anything from him. We were two peas in a pod, my father and I. “It’s about Joe.”

“Did he hurt you, sweetheart?”

“What? No! No, nothing like that. He’s really nice.” I told him everything—except for the part about how Joe made me scream out his name in the hotel room, of course. Daddy listened to my whole story, leaning forward on the table, without interrupting once. He was good like that. I think that’s why people always seemed to gravitate toward him. You knew that when you were speaking with him, he was listening.

With a slight frown marring his face, he sat back again as he took in everything I’d said. “Why are you telling me all of this, Pumpkin? Are you looking for my approval? You’re a grown woman. You don’t need that.”

“No. Not your approval exactly. Honestly, I just don’t know what to do. You know the girls. They all think I should throw caution to the wind and go for it, but you also know how I am. All of these self-doubts rise anytime a man seems interested in me—and someone who looks like Joe? With his choice of occupation? I guess I want another perspective on the matter.”

“Okay then, here it is. While I certainly don’t love that his job for the past six years has been dating different women, I liked him. You’ll always be my little girl, so no one is ever going to be good enough for you, but I know what I saw in Joe’s eyes at Sassy’s wedding. He cares about you—a lot.” He leaned forward and took my hands in his. “I know how you doubt yourself, Pumpkin, but love at first sight really does exist. Why wouldn’t he fall for you like that? You’re an angel. And you
said he’s quitting his job, and even went so far as to tell you to stop judging him on his looks, so he’s not trying to use them to gain your favor. That doesn’t sound like someone who just wants to play around, honey. If he did, he’d be using all that charm he learned over his years as an escort to get what he wanted.”

You know, it’s funny. My girlfriends have been telling me pretty much the same thing, but when it came from my dad, I believed it a little more. He’s never lied to me that I know of, and if he didn’t believe that Joe’s intentions were honorable, he would be the first one to say so. But my father was also a
firm believer in second chances.

“The bottom line here is how you feel about him. I know you’ve been hurt before by men that were too stupid to realize what they had when they had you, but taking chances is what makes life worth living. Don’t sit back and watch something slip away before you even know if it’s worth going for. Maybe you’re thinking too hard about this. About Joe. He wants to take you out? Let him take you
out. He’s not asking you to marry him. Go out, have some fun. Be young, live a little, you know what I’m saying?”

See?
He’s awesome, isn’t he? I bounded out of my chair and hugged him, a big smile splitting my face. “I do, Daddy. Thank you. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

His hand rapped lightly on my back. “Good. And if he does anything stupid, you just let me know. I can make him disappear.”

I shook my head, but was delighted at my father’s protective words. “Oh, Daddy, I wouldn’t want you to make him disappear, but thank you.”

With a quick kiss to my forehead, he left, leaving me to daydream about Joe without any doubts. It made for a nice evening and even allowed me to have sweet dreams about him.

***

Monday morning rolled around
, and I knew I had to call Joe to accept his invitation, but I was nervous. I’m not sure exactly why. I knew he’d want to hear from me, but there was this little, annoying devil in my head saying he’d changed his mind or would pretend he didn’t even know who I was. I know they’re crazy thoughts, but they’re there, nonetheless.

At ten-thirty, after finishing the first half of an audit I’d been working on for the last week, I called him. He picked up almost immediately, making me feel a little better.

“What a nice surprise.”

God, even his voice gave me shivers. That man was sex on a stick. “Hi, Joe. How are you?”

“Better now. I like hearing your voice in the morning.”

“Um, thanks.” I knew I had a big dopey grin on my face. “I got your invitation on Friday. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner.”

“And?”

“And I would love to go with you. I’ve wanted to go to Lions, Tigers
, and Bears forever, but I never had anyone who wanted to go with me.” My father would have gone with me if I’d asked, but animals weren’t his thing.

Joe let out a loud sound. A ‘whoop’ maybe? I couldn’t be sure, but he
definitely sounded happy. “Thank you, Faith. I’m glad you want to go. You’re going to love it. It’s one of my favorite places.”

I knew Joe loved his dog and all, but he sounded so sincere and it
kind of surprised me. Most people liked animals, but could take them or leave them. I had a passion for them. I played anonymous Santa for a couple of shelters at Christmas. It was fun for me.

“Really? That’s great, Joe. Not enough people care about what animals go through in the world today. They need our voice. People need to start caring about what we’re doing to these poor creatures, not to mention what we’ve done to their habitats.”
Shut up!
Sometimes I can get carried away on the subject of animals. One deep breath later, and I tried to end my rant with a light-hearted comment. “Well, I just think they’re cute and stuff, you know?”

“I think you feel more than that, Faith. And I love it. We have that in common. I even find myself getting angry
with people who buy purebred dogs. Do you know what would happen to all the damn puppy mills if people would rescue instead of buy their dogs? They’d go out of business. And so many unwanted dogs would have homes.”

“I know! I’ll never understand how people can support those places. I mean
, if I had a choice, I’d prefer a German Shepherd or a Great Dane, but I just won’t do it. We always rescued our dogs growing up. My mother always wanted the most expensive dog she could find, of course, but that was one area where my father put his foot down.” And I swear, he’d find the ugliest dog he could, and I could not have loved any of them more. I know my father got those dogs for me.

“My Heidi is from a Shepherd rescue organization. If you’re in the market for one, I could take you.”

“Maybe. I have been thinking about getting a dog again. My Mollie just left me in January. Her death really got to me. I swore I’d never get another dog again. It just hurts too much to lose them, but I sure do miss having a constant companion around, you know?”

I used to take Mollie to the dog park on the weekends. She loved to run around, free of a leash, playing with the other dogs there. With nothing much to do but watch her play, I had plenty of time to daydream about the men in the park.

My most common daydream was the one where I met Mr. Right. He always ‘accidently’ threw his beagle’s Frisbee my way, ensuring he would have an excuse to come talk to me, but instead of talking, he’d grab me and push me up against a tree, taking my lips in a hard, lusty kiss.

With his hands beneath my shirt, molded to my breasts, he’d tell me how much he wanted me. He’d tell me how he’d been watching me for weeks trying to garner the courage to approach me, and how when he finally did, talking was the last thing on his mind.

The people in the park would disappear as he freed his cock and shoved my skirt up. I’d be so hot for him, I’d welcome him quickly, and with one hard, quick thrust, he’d be inside of me, my legs wrapped around him.

Of
course, that never happened. Realizing my mind had wandered down an ‘oh, so familiar’ path, I pulled myself back to my conversation with Joe.

“I understand completely. If you’re not ready for a dog yet though, I selflessly volunteer to be your companion. And if you pet me, I can guarantee you’ll like the results.”

He never quit. Not only was he nice to look at but he made me laugh, too. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“I do. Yes.” I could hear the smile in his voice. He was playing with me. I liked playful Joe. “You do that to me, Faith. And I’m not lying. Maybe we should try the whole petting thing.”

“I think we’ve been down that road once before. Or halfway, anyway.” What was I saying? I couldn’t pull off the whole seductive phone conversation. Sometimes I felt seriously socially inept.

“Oh, I think you went the whole way, sweetheart. At least
, that’s what I think those sounds meant.”

“Okay. Stop. I’m not good at this, Joe. I’m awkward. Can we just focus on our date? Maybe leave the rest alone for now?” Now I sounded like a prude. Damn,
I was going to screw this up before it even started.

“Anything you say, Faith. All of our dating decisions are up to you. You set the pace. I can’t promise that I won’t try to bring that sex kitten to the forefront
, though. Like it or not, you’re one hot woman.”